Archive | March, 2016

Runs were hard to come by for the Sonora Raiders baseball team, but they were able to edge out Yucaipa 2-1 and win the Anaheim Lions Tournament Championship last Wednesday.
The Raiders (7-8) stumbled out of the gate in the 2016 season, but the Sonora Baseball team is finding its groove at a nice time. After a 1-2 start in the Freeway League, the Raiders have rattled off five in a row and are gelling as a team.
With the Raiders enjoying spring break, they have been able to bring up some of their freshman, as well as simply focus on baseball.
“We are relaxed. We’re not stressed, we’re not nervous, there are no nerves at all, we’re just out here playing our game, having fun, being confident,” Matt Schmidt said.
“We’re playing as a team. Guys on the bench, the dugout atmosphere is incredible,” Raiders Head Coach Pat Tellers said.
The Raiders were led against Yucaipa by Willie Castellanos who pitched six scoreless for his first victory of the season.
“To have the poise to go out there and throw six inning for us, you couldn’t ask for much more,” Tellers said.
“I’ve been in this situation before, but it is always mind boggling, but it was fun,” Castellanos said.
The Thunderbirds (10-6) were led by hard throwing Cody Stevens who kept the Raiders offense quiet all night.
“We knew they were a really good team, and they have really good arms on the mound, and that was their best guy,” Tellers said. “We knew he was going to pound the zone. We had to make adjustments at the plate.”
Unable to make much hard contact, the Raiders relied on small ball, where they have had success all season.
In the bottom of the third inning, the Raiders led off the inning with two singles, by Max Wilkinson and Dylan Villalobos. After two straight fielder’s choices, the Raiders had runners on the corners with Villalobos on third and two outs.
Mehial Nazaroff, broke for second early in an attempt to gain attention long enough for Villalobos to score from third. The play worked to perfection, as Nazaroff’s run down lasted long enough for Villalobos to beat the throw home. The third inning ended shortly after that, with Jason Clayton striking out with Nazaroff at second.
The Raiders followed a similar script leading 1-0 in the bottom of the sixth, when Nazaroff stole home with the Thunderbirds throwing to second on the double steal attempt.
The Raiders benefitted from the two run lead, because the Thunderbirds came up in the seventh fighting.
The Raiders wanted to make an effort to limit Villalobos’ innings in order to give his arm a rest. However after a week of playing shortstop, the Raiders turned to him in the seventh.
Villalobos got off to a rocky start in his first inning of the week, as Yucaipa’s cleanup hitter, Tyler Van Marter ripped a triple down the left field line to lead off the inning. Tristan Macias then followed with a walk putting runners on the corners. Macias was replaced by a pinch runner who stole second easily as the throw to second sailed over the center fielder’s head. The throwing error led to Van Marter scoring from third and put a runner at second.
That was the end of the Thunderbirds chances however, as Villalobos struck the next two batters out to close things down for the Raiders.
The Raiders were led in this game by Castellanos who was able to keep the Yucaipa batters off balance for six innings.
“As long as he was around the plate, I thought that he would be pretty effective,” Tellers said.
Throughout the tournament, the Raiders leaned on Matt Schmidt who won the Tournament MVP hitting 13-20, and for his pitching performances during the week.
“It just seemed like I could do no wrong out there on the field,” Schmidt said.
“He went 13-17 for the tournament already, he’s got to be our MVP no matter what happens today,” Tellers said. “Anything he touched, the ball was going through, he had some RBI’s, sacrifice bunts.”
In addition, the Raiders were able to consistently give him the ball and trust he would take care of business.
“He didn’t give up any runs on the mound, he was just fantastic, he played second base, shortstop for us too, the guy had a great tournament for us.
Schmidt’s dominance on the mound will pay big dividends for the Raiders in multiple ways. Schmidt will be trusted with the ball as the Raiders ace moving forward, and take pressure off of Villalobos.
“If we can limit the innings right now, maybe he (Villalobos) becomes the closer instead of the starter,” Tellers said. “We would love to keep him at short, it really sures up the defense.”
If the Raiders rotation goes as planned, they may be looking at Schmidt, and Derek Cull leading the rotation, with Steven Perez, Castellanos and Villalobos able to compete for any remaining spots in the rotation.

La Habra took a one-run lead into the final inning against Valley View (Moreno Valley), before the offense posted five runs of breathing room on the board to end the game with a comfortable 8-2 victory.

Today’s win brings the Highlanders record to (3-1) in the 2016 Anaheim Lions Tournament, which consists of 80 teams from California, Nevada and Utah.

Michael Borg got the seventh inning rally started when he laid a perfect bunt down the third baseline, beating the throw to first and advancing Mun Pak to second. The next batter, Isaiah Castillo followed with an identical bunt to load the bases. After collecting two walks, a single and a hit batter- the Highlanders had batted around and Pak added the final dagger with an RBI single.

The Highlanders had runners in scoring position and less than two outs in each of the first two innings, but failed to convert a run. Both innings were undone by a ground ball double play.

“I was a little frustrated early because we were getting to the pitcher, but couldn’t capitalize,” Head Coach Jon Sothern said.

La Habra finally broke through for a run in the third inning. A leadoff single and stolen base for Pak set the table for Castillo to single him in.

The Highlanders kept pressure on Valley View in the fourth inning as well. Braxton Hutcherson led off the inning with a walk and was moved over on a perfectly placed sacrifice bunt from pinch hitter Cameron Sciacca. Michael Walters drove in Hutcherson with a line drive double to the gap in right-centerfield.

As frustrated as he was early on, Sothern was ultimately pleased with his team’s ability to continue pushing forward and execute the little things.

“We found ways to get guys on, move them over with bunts and found ways to score guys,” Sothern said. “Ultimately I was pleased we got three [runs], I wanted to add on a little earlier than [the seventh inning], but it was a good time to separate ourselves.”

The Highlanders executed some impressive defense in the third inning to keep their narrow lead intact. Valley View had runners on first and second with no outs, with the runners going catcher Drake Flores threw out the lead runner at third. The next batter, Christian Alvarado hit a hard grounder to Hutcherson at third, who caught the lead runner drifting too far off second base for the force out, effectively erasing Valley View’s rally.

“That is something we preach tremendously, look for outs, you can’t give a team extra outs and then you have to always look for outs,” Sothern said. “I mean they had runners on first and second with no outs and we eliminated them, that’s what I mean, there are outs to be had if you stay poised and look for them.”

The Highlanders allowed one run in each the fourth and fifth inning.

Flores, who switched from catcher to reliever in the fourth inning picked up the win, going 3 innings with an earned run and a strikeout.

The Highlanders (6-6) will wrap up the Anaheim Lions Tournament on Wednesday back at their home field. The opponent and game time have not been announced yet. Entering Tuesday’s games, there were still 14 teams with a perfect record, including three from the Freeway League- Buena Park, Sonora and Fullerton.

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The Lady Highlanders only needed a two-run second inning to top El Modena in the quarter final of the Woodbridge Tournament, thanks to a dominant performance from starting pitcher Janelle Rodriguez, who capped off the complete game shutout by striking out five of the final six batters she faced.

Rodriguez impressively needed just 13 pitches to strike out the side in the final inning, bringing her total to 11.

La Habra Head Coach Steve Harrington was confident that Rodriguez would dominate the game today.

“I knew once Janelle got the lead, they weren’t going to touch her today,” Harrington said. “There was no way they were going to touch Janelle today, they only hit one ball out of the infield.”

Rodriguez also helped set up the two-run second inning offensively. After Frankie Mendoza drew a leadoff walk, Rodriguez beat out an infield single to put runners on the corners. A couple batters later, Alyssa Alatorre drew a walk with the bases loaded to score the first run. Then Jayana Perez singled to the right-center gap, knocking in the game’s final run.

The meeting today marked the first time Harrington has faced his former team, since leaving El Modena one year ago. Harrington was the head coach for El Modena for over 14 years. According to him, the Lady Vanguards have changed quite a bit since his departure, and not necessarily for the better.

“That team is not the same team that I left when I got done coaching over there,” Harrington said. “It starts with the coaching staff and works its way down.”

Harrington pointed to the fact that the Lady Vanguards were not running out ground balls and were basically overly excited about making routine plays. The pre-game chatter coming from his former team didn’t sit well with Harrington either.

“You know they did a lot of trash talking early on, so I’m glad we came out and took care of business on the field,” Harrington said. “I was proud of our kids, because we didn’t fight back negatively, we just let our play represent us.”

El Modena’s only scoring opportunity came in the fifth inning. A leadoff single by Ashley Rock followed by a couple walks, loaded the bases for the Lady Vanguards. However, Rodriguez struck out Mackenzie Hoots to put an end to the rally.

Tonight’s win makes it 11 consecutive for the Lady Highlanders (13-1) this season, and moves the team on to the semifinal round, where they will face Villa Park on Saturday at 5:15 p.m., once again at Bill Barber Park in Irvine. Last Wednesday La Habra defeated Villa Park 1-0 in their only matchup this season. The winner of the contest will advance to the championship game on Saturday at 7:15 p.m. at the same location.

The La Habra City Council will discuss proposed increases and adjustments to individual and commercial fees at the next city council meeting on April 4.
The Council voted to table the matter until the next meeting to allow for more time to see all of the proposed fee adjustments.
The city council hired a management research and consulting firm, MGT America, last year to conduct a study of city fee-related services in order to identify fees that could be adjusted to reflect the city’s cost to provide that service, identify opportunities to implement new fees and develop revenue projections based on the proposed fee structure. It is also to come in line with the annual adjustment by the Consumer Price Index. While the city has made annual adjustments, it has been ten years since an analysis of fees was conducted.
The MGT study factored the hourly rates of staff members providing the service and the amount of time devoted to providing that service. They specifically looked at recreation, facility rentals, police services, finance, city clerk services, engineering, planning and building fee services.
The study showed that the city is currently covering the cost, or subsidizing, 43 percent of the current city fees. Based on the study, the average annual cost for services is $4,071,487 and the city is generating $2,326,184 in fee-based revenue annually. The city is then subsidizing $1,745,303 for the work to provide these services.
The study broke down each fee in each city area while making the report. While most fees are recommended to increase, some outdated or unused service fees are recommended to be deleted.
The City Council will address this again at the April 4 meeting to determine if the fees will be increased and which fees will be increased.

The La Habra Heights Council will interview applicants for the Roads Committee being assembled.
After receiving 15 applications for the committee, the council had a lengthy discussion on the makeup of the committee. It was determined to have 11 members with four alternates.
The council had previously approved a committee of 10-12 members, but all of the council members were pleased with the number of applicants of interested residents and discussed how to be inclusive.
Councilmember Roy Francis said he was “very impressed with the applicants” and based on the applications that were submitted they “look like a good group to fix our roads now and in the future. It’s a great cross-section of the community,” he said.
Mayor Kyle Miller suggested an interview in order to meet the individuals in person to get a sense of who they are.
Councilmembers Brian Bergman and Michael Higgins agreed that a meeting would be the best route to determining the members of the committee.
Mayor Pro Tem Jane Williams suggested eliminating the last three applications to keep the committee to a manageable number and wouldn’t need to schedule the special meeting.
City Attorney John Brown pointed out that committees in other cities consist of about 11 people and that alternates have been used.
The council scheduled a special meeting to interview the applicants for the Roads Committee for April 2 at 9 a.m. They plan to allot approximately 10 minutes per candidate.
The decision was approved 4-1 with Francis being the dissenting vote.
Miller said that he didn’t want to discourage people who wanted to help the community and was glad that they could get going on the process of setting up the committee.
He had suggested that the committee initially set goals to discuss best practices for outreach to the community. He suggested that outreach efforts could include newsletters, community meetings or even phone banking. He said that it will be important to reach out and inform as many residents as possible.
He then said the committee’s second goal would be to read and analyze the pavement management plan. Higgins agreed and said that they need to evaluate it.
Higgins also pointed out that many other cities had standing maintenance schedules of when roads would be repaired, resurfaced and worked on. “This way residents know what’s happening on their street,” Higgins said, and added that having a standing schedule could benefit the city, “so that we don’t have to go through this every five years.”
The committee will be established and approved at the city council meeting in April.

On Mother’s Day, the La Habra Art Association will celebrate the one-year anniversary of when they began to hold open mic nights in the art gallery every first and third Saturday of the month. During last year’s Citrus Fair, adults visiting the gallery commented on its stage, saying it would be a great location for open mic nights.

Courtesy of Luz SpanksLife is Art: Participants on Saturday’s Open Mic Night at the La Habra Art Association. The monthly event brings a variety of artists to the gallery. The current exhibit is from Fe Koons and Joy Marivic Santiago.

Shortly after, a man called and expressed interest in starting an open mic night—that man was Mon Concepcion, a musician also known as Reckless&Blue, who is now Open Mic’s host.
The events cater to individuals who wish to practice their craft and support other artists in an encouraging environment. Open Mic is open to any creative talents; it consistently sees a variety of musicians, poets, spoken word performers and dancers, and Concepcion is hoping to increase the number of comedians involved. Anyone who is interested can participate, regardless of age or prior experience.
“As long as you have a passion for playing your instrument, belt out a song, anyone is welcome,” said Luz Spanks, event coordinator of the La Habra Art Association. “[On] one particular night, the performers could be a high school student, a college student, a grandmother, a grandfather, mother, father, daughter, cousin, husband, wife, son, brother-in-law, an actor, a playwright, an accountant, a journalist—from 9 to 95.”
The staff asks entertainers to refrain from using foul language and obscenities while attending Open Mic, according to Spanks.
On average, there are 15 performers during Open Mic nights and an equal amount of audience members, but the crowd has gone up to 50 in the past. There is no limit on the amount of participants, and the gallery is always looking to add more.
“It’s really all about the vibes. We have good vibes,” Concepcion said. “It’s a warm place to meet people and network, to get to know folks. That’s what it’s all about. Have a good time, let them know what you’re doing, show them what you got up on stage.”
One of Concepcion’s main goals for Open Mic is the creation of a relaxed, family-friendly atmosphere that combines art and music to foster artists’ growth. He seeks to encourage original artistry by creating an environment in which people can connect over their work and motivate one another.
“This is a formal motivation—to conquer your fear and have a good time and do your thing up on stage,” Concepcion said.
Open Mics are now held once each month, on the third Saturday of the month at 7 p.m. The events currently take place in the art gallery on north Orange Street, but the building will soon be converted to housing and the gallery will move to a new expansion of the Community Center.
The association is excited for the new location, but is concerned about the size of the building.
“[The new building] is significantly smaller,” Spanks said. “The current gallery is 1500 square feet with separate restrooms, kitchenette, storage and office. The new space is a total of 991 square feet including storage.”
According to Spanks, they are working on the logistics of keeping workshop participants in the building without violating the fire code.
“We worked hard to promote the art workshops, [it’s] just unfortunate that we can’t maximize the attendance due to size of the place,” Spanks said.
The Art Association will offer a larger amount of events and workshops in order to keep up with the fast-paced nature of art media.
Raul D. Arellano is starting a new painting class on Wednesdays, called Still Life in Oil & Acrylic.
“The mission of La Habra Art Association for the new site is to provide artists a place to be creative, to grow as an artist and exhibit their work while providing the public with experiences that stimulate creativity and imagination, while conserving the heritage of each constituent of the La Habra community,” Spanks said.
For more information, visit www.lahabraartgallery.org.

Students from Sonora and La Habra High School, as well as the La Habra Hilltoppers 4-H Club, will be showcasing their projects and selling 80 animals at this year’s Citrus Fair, held April 30 through May 1 in El Centro-Lions Park.

Sonora High School Senior Nancy Garcia will show and auction her steer at the Citrus Fair.

This student showcase gives local students the opportunity to prepare for the county fair, and it also gives residents a chance to learn about how food goes from the farm to the table. This fair will benefit about a thousand young people in the area. Livestock will include beef steers, pigs, goats, sheep, broiler chickens and egg-laying hens.
This year, in addition to the livestock showcase and auction, students will have a place to market their floral culture and agricultural construction projects, such as barbeques, benches, and small outdoor furniture. In the Veteran’s Hall, there will be more displays and projects, including floral decorating, cake decorating and table setting.
“There is no better education than hands-on learning,” said Phil Pacia, head of career and technical education at Sonora High School and founder of the La Habra Community Fair.

Junior Rebecca Brand (left) and Senior Tara Young of Sonora will show their goat and sheep at the annual Citrus Fair in April.

The La Habra Valley Community Fair started seven years ago, but for the past two years the livestock show and auction has been a part of the city’s Citrus Fair. Pacia partnered with the Chamber of Commerce, specifically its president, Mark Sturdevant, to effect this change.
“The chamber is working to help the kids in this community be successful,” Pacia said. “That’s a huge project.”
The auction will be held in the park at 3 p.m. on Sunday, May 1. Each student’s project will be sold one at a time, focusing on the student as a hard-working member of the community.
If livestock is purchased, it can be kept as a pet or project, with goats helping in weed abatement and hens laying eggs. If the buyer wants to use the livestock for meat, the auction committee will arrange for the animal to be prepared, and the product will be ready about three weeks after the fair.
The buyer will have to pay an additional processing fee.
“Our goal in the auction is to have a personal experience for the buyer and the student,” Pacia said.
While auction sales are predicted to exceed $120,000, students will just break even after all the money and time they have put into raising the livestock.
The auction allows for group buyers and even has an “add-on” program, giving donations of any value directly to the student.

Junior Issac Rodriguez takes a moment with his pig that he will show at the annual Citrus Fair in April.

Anyone interested in giving a donation to a student can either talk to the student during the fair, connect with the representative or announce their donation during the bidding process.
Another way fairgoers and potential buyers can support these students is by donating to the scholarship fund. High school seniors who are active in FFA or 4-H are eligible to apply for the scholarships, the recipients of which will be announced at the closing ceremony on the main stage.
The student showcase is a chance for residents to learn about where their food comes from while being impressed by the work the students have put into their projects. The students will be demonstrating the skills they have learned in class.
“We need you to make it a priority to come out and see what your high schools are producing, because we’re not the average high schools,” Pacia said.
For more information about the auction, visit lhvcfair.com. If you have questions about purchasing livestock or otherwise participating in the showcase, call Phil Pacia at 714-402-8062.

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Kristen Sauceda was crowned Miss La Habra at the 68th Annual Miss La Habra Pageant that took place on March 12 at the La Habra Community Center.
Her princesses include: Samantha Da Broi, Alexyss Gomez, Madelynn Sopp and Norma Mendoza.
Friends, family, and neighboring ambassadors and their court were in attendance.
This year 14 beautiful young women competed for the title of Miss La Habra 2016. This year’s theme, “Oh the Places You’ll Go,” by Dr. Seuss.
The young women were scored based on their involvement within the community, a panel interview with judges that took place the day before the pageant, and their ability to answer a question, that was selected by each girl randomly and gave her best answer.

Contestants in the Miss La Habra Pageant 2016

The pageant showcased a mini performance by the former Miss La Habra 2015 and her court, as well as all 14 candidates for Miss La Habra 2016. The next portion of the pageant moved on to individual strides down the runway, while each of the young ladies likes, dislikes, pet peeves, and hopes for the future were expressed individually.
During the evening gown portion of the ceremony, the women took another stride down the runway one last time, as final scores were calculated.

Former Miss La Habra, Carrera Vilaubi gave a heart-felt speech and expressed her deepest appreciation for her court, experiences that she had, and memories she will never forget.
Queen Carrera and her princesses were given roses and a final thank you from the community before announcing the new Miss La Habra and her court.
The young women are considered ambassadors of the City of La Habra and represent the city. Queen Kristen and her court will make special appearances throughout the year at various community functions, and this year’s upcoming Corn Festival.

Due to the steady presence and danger posed by the animals, La Habra police have now finalized their coyote management plan in order to prevent and address coyote attacks.

Coyotes are opportunistic feeders, and unlike dogs, who might harm for play or defense, coyotes are looking for food. The city of La Habra is currently at “Sighting Level Green”, meaning that coyotes have been seen moving in the area but are not entering places frequented by people.
In other words, residents are seeing coyotes, but have not had interactions with them. Most sighting reports are from the area in and around Osornio park, as well as the pocket behind it along Creek Lane.
“The Coyote Management Plan really mandates community involvement,” said Cindy Knapp, bureau manager of the La Habra Police Department.
As part of the management plan, the police department is taking every opportunity to educate the public about coyotes. They even include this information in the papers they give to pet owners who are renewing their pet licenses.
Within the information given out with dog and cat license renewals, the La Habra Police Department warns dog owners to walk outside with dogs on a leash less than six feet in length, secure them safely when outdoors, feed them indoors, keep the yard free of overgrown shrubbery and discourage coyotes from repeated visits by shouting, making loud noises or throwing rocks.
If a dog must be kept outside on its own, be sure to have the bottom of the kennel enclosed as well to prevent coyotes from digging under the dog’s cage. Cat owners are advised to keep cats indoors at all times.
All residents should keep trash secured, bagging attractive food waste before placing it in the bin. They should also keep their yards free of fallen fruit and excess birdseed. Coyotes travel along creek beds and usually try to stay as far away from humans as possible. However, if they find a residence with a food supply, they will keep returning to that area as their hunting ground.
“If we can’t reduce the attractants and work together to address the problem, we’re going to continue to have coyotes coming here,” Knapp said.
The police department has no record of a coyote attacking a human for at least the last 25 years. In the past few months, two pet dogs have been killed by coyotes.
One dog was killed at night, which makes sense because coyotes typically hunt in the early morning hours. The other dog was killed in the middle of the day, when no one was home and the dog was left unsecured in the yard. Fenced yards are not necessarily a guard against coyotes with the ability to climb, Knapp warned.
Coyotes are most active at night and in early morning hours, which is when they hunt. Because spring is breeding season, residents can expect to see more coyotes traveling together.
If residents see coyotes lurking about where they should not be, especially where there are pets nearby, they should call 562-383-4357 to report the coyote sighting.
Authorities will not trap coyotes or remove them from their habitat, but residents and police personnel can deter them from residential areas. Residents can report aggressive coyotes to the South Coast Region of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife at 858-467-4201.
Knapp said that they are working to have a balance. “We want to try to have a nice cooperative relationship with them so that our urban wildlife is maintained but that we also protect our pets.”

The Fullerton Joint Union High School District has released an initial project list for their ongoing Bond Facilities Projects, which involves the renovation of several of La Habra High School and Sonora High School’s facilities.
Once voters of the FJUHSD approved Measure I on November 4, 2014 they began planning for the renovation projects. Measure I allowed the District to provide $175 million in general obligation bonds in order to finance the projects with the funds collected from the sales of the bonds, according to a press release from the District.
The list included the first phase of projects for each of the six schools being renovated. La Habra High School will be receiving a new theatre and modernization of their stadium, lecture halls and gym.
Sonora High School will be receiving a new gym along with the modernization of their theatre. Both schools will also be receiving upgrades for their technology infrastructure.
According to the projects’ Facilities and Construction Director, Todd Butcher, the board has only approved the initial contract with the architects for the preliminary designs, but have allowed him to begin the modernization process for the existing gymnasiums and theatres.
The board has yet to authorize the construction of the new gymnasium and theatre. The modernization process’ construction period is estimated between 18 to 24 months, but Butcher noted that all of the projects should be completed within two to three years.
“We are working diligently on getting these preliminary designs to the board as quickly as possible,” said Butcher.
Measure I indicates that the project’s funds will only be spent on the schools’ specific improvement projects, and not on teacher or administrator salaries or other school operating costs. A Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee has been formed in order to oversee the proper utilization of the bond proceeds for the project. Annual performance and financial audits have been implemented into the projects schedule as well.
The city of La Habra has no jurisdiction over the current projects, but it has surely brought excitement and delight to the city’s administration. La Habra Mayor, James Gomez, believes that education and public safety should be the top priorities for the community. “Any improvements done to our schools will benefit the students, the community, and will be very beneficial as a whole for La Habra,” said Gomez.
With the projects’ estimated construction time being between two to three years there is a question posed as to whether the projects will disrupt any daily school operations.
According to Sonora High School principal, Adam Bailey, the District has reassured him that the construction will have very minimal impact since the majority of the construction will be implemented on the perimeter of the school.
Sonora’s new gymnasium will possibly be constructed over the current racquetball and tennis courts, according to Bailey.
“The great thing about working with Mr. Butcher is he has a lot of experience with project designs, so he has several great ideas on how to work around the impacts the school renovations could bring,” said Bailey.
According to Butcher, the board has been very supportive of all the projects they have already started discussing within the bond.